Hill dishes injury advice

NBA / Orlando Magic - Magic beat

Magic fans probably don't want to hear about Phoenix Suns SF Grant Hill advising any Magic player about playing with injuries. But Hill said before facing his old club on Wednesday night that he did speak with point guard Jameer Nelson last season and encouraged his former teammate not to come back to play in the playoffs.

"Put that on the record. You can ask him. I told him not to play, just from my own experience," Hill said.

"Not so much from a basketball standpoint. Maybe I shouldn't have, because you don't want to plant that seed in somebody before they're going out to play. But I said, 'Look, I've been out there when [I'm] not right and even when you are right, it's a process when you miss that much time. So, you're going to second-guess your shoulder and your confidence and all that.' Then, as you're not at that level, everybody else is at that level. Then you start to lose your confidence."

Nelson missed the last half of the season after shoulder surgery but returned to play in the Finals against the Lakers. He struggled mightily, proving Hill's point.

Hill said "the only reason why I told him that was I just felt that if something had happened to him and he got hurt, then I would have felt horrible if I hadn't told him."

Carter out again

While SG Vince Carter did not play after reinjuring his left ankle Tuesday night against the Pistons, SF Mickael Pietrus was available against the Suns.

Pietrus, who was sent home from Toronto on Sunday after developing flu-like symptoms, entered the game late in the first period. He looked well, scoring 13 points before halftime.

J.J. Redick started his third consecutive game in place of Carter.

Carter will be a game-time decision again Friday night in the rematch against the Pistons at Amway Arena.

Layups

*Hill was still booed by the Orlando crowd that thought he should have stayed at least another season after becoming a free agent in 2007, giving the Magic a hometown discount. He made $92 million with the Magic.

*Magic President Bob Vander Weide said the Magic were not one of the four teams that reportedly have been fined $25,000 apiece by the league for excessive reimbursement for expenses incurred by would-be free agents. ESPN first reported the story.

Vander Weide, a resident of Grand Rapids, Mich., said he missed seeing the Magic play the Pistons on Tuesday night in Auburn Hills to attend his daughter's volleyball game.